Cake, Candles, and Kisses
by Ixionrider
Summary: It's Syrus's birthday and Zane is throwing a surprise party for him. Of course, the bluenette has his own plans for his birthday, and has his own special someone to share it with. JxS


YAY! Another Jaden x Syrus fic. It's been awhile, but this is just a little something I felt should be written about. It's a birthday party of course. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX or any characters. Enjoy!

**Cake, Candles, and Kisses**

The day had been on every one's calendar. Actually, oddly enough, Zane was the one who had told everybody of the upcoming event: Syrus' birthday. So, he decided to set up a surprise party for his younger brother, all the while knowing that Syrus had his own plans for his birthday. And he knew that those plans involved a certain brunette who was very close to the boy's heart: Jaden Yuki.

The two had been together since they both started as students at Duelist Academy. Syrus met the ever rambunctious brunette and since then had in a sense clung to him. The two were practically inseparable, thanks to the smaller teen's unscrupulous and often obvious physical draw towards his more oblivious friend.

What he felt for his friend, Syrus could not say. Like he had swallowed a nest of bugs that crawled in his gut every time he tried to get closer to Jaden, whether physically or when he tried to at least talk to him about it. Of course the brunette wouldn't notice and give him a stupid smile that started Syrus' rampant heart beat.

He was shy, which didn't help matters in the least. So when he began entertaining the idea that he and his roommate could possibly be more than friends, he had made several attempts to explain what it was he felt but never did manage to express it properly.

Flashback

"Hey, Jaden…I was wondering…" Syrus shifted uneasily, his hands held tightly behind his back.

"…I got the new Attack of the Space Blobs Volume 4. Do you wanna watch it with me tonight?" he started to blush.

"No Way! You got the latest volume?! Sure! I'll watch it with you." Jaden perked. Syrus smiled.

"Hey wait. I thought you hated scary movies. You sure you won't get nightmares?" the brunette knew him well.

"No, are you serious? I love scary movies. Especially ones where there are countless blobs eating everyone." He feinted interest while a chill slithered up his spine.

Whatever, at least he would have Jaden to fend off any blobs that came after him in the night.

It all went well, up until the part when they actually had to watch the movie. Syrus spent a large portion of the time under the large comforter, hiding from scenes of horror while Jaden watched with growing interest.

"Come on Sy, you're missing the best part."

"N-No, that's all right."

Intermittently, Syrus would poke his head out from under the covers and try to nuzzle his way closer to the brunette, feeling his chances of telling him how he felt slipping away the more the movie progressed.

"Jaden?" Syrus finally spoke while the scientists on the screen were plotting a way to stop the giant gobs of pink goo.

The brunette turned his interested gaze away from the movie and stared down at the half covered bluenette still keeping his eyes locked on him.

"Um…I just wanted to tell you…" he hesitated again.

"Hm? Tell me what Sy?"

"I, uh, wanted to tell you…"

There was a sudden scream from one of the women in the movie. The pink blob had found its way into the laboratory and started to eat everyone in sight.

The startled Syrus jumped suddenly and snatched at Jaden's right arm, burying his face in his sleeve.

"AHH! I hate scary movies!" Syrus yelled into Jaden's firm body.

"Ha ha ha. Oh come on Sy, it's not that bad." The brunette mused. The smaller teen clutched even harder after hearing the screams of the people who were running from the monstrous blobs.

"Tell me when it's over." Syrus closed his eyes and still held firm to Jaden's arm.

The noise started to fade in Syrus's ears when his heart started to beat rampantly, dampening any other sound around him. He slowly opened his eyes only to have his vision swamped by the drab gray t-shirt that his hero wore as pajamas.

It felt warm against his cheek, and he found himself taking more of it. He nuzzled cautiously against Jaden's arm, lacing more of his own arm around the brunette's.

Another scream, and Syrus clutched again against the brunette.

"Whoa! Too tight, Sy! I think you're cutting off my circulation." Jaden shared with a smirk. The smaller boy ignored the comment and the laugh. He clung to his hero until the screaming stopped.

"Jaden, why do you have to watch such scary movies?" Syrus squeezed tighter.

"Because, isn't it exciting?"

"No! It's way too weird and scary."

"Okay okay, I'll turn it off." Jaden reached for the remote and snapped the movie off just as the pink blob cornered another helpless victim.

The room grew silent, just the small static from the tv was heard. Still, Syrus refused to let go of his hero.

"Okay, the blobs are gone. You can let go." Jaden eased the tension with a friendly suggestion.

"What if they come for me when I'm sleeping?"

Jaden started to muffle a hearty laugh.

"Hey, I'll be here. I'll fight them off for you." The brunette laughed.

'What a rotten turn out.' Syrus thought to himself. 'I was supposed to tell him how I feel. Instead…' Syrus opened his eyes and caught the downward smile Jaden gave him. '…well, I guess it isn't all bad.' Syrus smiled back and gave his hero another squeeze before snuggling in.

End Flashback

As it was, he knew that his birthday was coming up, but he wondered if Jaden knew. He hadn't asked what he wanted for his birthday, which meant one of two things: Jaden either forgot, which was a real possibility, or he was hiding it.

Either way, Syrus did find it sort of strange that Jaden had woken him up the morning of his birthday, usually he slept in until well after noon. But he was up and about at nine in the morning, bugging the smaller teen to get up and start the day, while trying to hide the fact that all of his friends were waiting outside for the two to leave so they could set up for the bash.

"C'mon Sy, it's time to get up." Jaden hopped in bed with the smaller teen. The sudden crash caused the bluenette to ease one eye open, then the other.

"Jaden…it's only nine o'clock. And it's a Saturday. Can't we sleep a little longer?"

"Nope, we need to get up right now." Jaden bounced.

"Just a few more minutes." Syrus whined. He could see that the night was still weighing heavily on his counterpart. He wanted to sleep, he could tell.

"Hmm, all right I guess a few more minutes wouldn't hurt." Jaden conceded. He flew under the covers with his smaller friend and almost instantly fell back to sleep when his head hit the pillow.

The oftentimes noisy brunette slumbered away next to his life friend, blissfully unaware that his smaller companion greedily watched from his enviable position next to him.

'I…really don't think I should. What if he wakes up?' Syrus struggled.

His hands clutched tightly to the comforter. A rosy blush crawled over the bridge of his nose. His throat swelled with something almost solid, like he had been trying to swallow a rock. No matter how many times he gulped, the swelling wouldn't go away.

He watched, waited, and still couldn't shake the feeling that Jaden was just playing, pretending to be asleep just to catch him in the act.

His eyes jumped back and forth from Jaden's partially drawn pajama shirt, to his slightly parted lips. He hesitated.

He didn't want to ruin it, but some unseen force drew him closer. His fingers crawled along the bedding and the sheets, reaching guiltily at his friend's shirt. He gave it a tug, pulling more of the buttons out of place, revealing more of Jaden's tan complexion.

Syrus wore a guilty smile, thinking favorably of what he wanted for his birthday.

Outside

"Man, he's taking too long. They should have both been out by now." Chazz spat.

"Relax, they're probably getting dressed right now." Alexis retorted.

"I don't think it would matter." Chazz shared with his devious smile. "Syrus wouldn't want Jaden with his clothes on anyway."

"Chazz!" Alexis whacked him upside the head.

"No he's right." Zane stepped forward with the streamers in his arms. The others grew silent.

"Syrus likes Jaden, that much is obvious."

"So why hasn't he told him yet?" Alexis pondered. Another sharp voice jumped from the tree nearby. An odd duelist hung by his knees on the tree branch with his arms spread out.

"Because…love is so grand that the very mention of it makes him quake with fear. Isn't it exciting?" Atticus swooned like a professional vaudevillian actor.

"You are such an oddity." Alexis barked back.

"I think he might try something this year." Zane put matter-of-factly. The others looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Atticus asked.

"Syrus may be shy, but that won't do him any good now. He's liked people before, but Jaden is different."

"How so?" Chazz pondered.

"Syrus gets very defensive about him. Didn't you notice that whole series of incidents with Hasselberry? Even I, his own brother, wouldn't challenge him when it comes to Jaden."

The others seemed shocked at first, but the more they thought about it, the more they agreed. But that didn't help the fact that the two boys were supposed to be out of the dorm by now.

"I think one of us should go knock on the door." Alexis pointed at her brother.

"Me?"

The group nodded unanimously.

Syrus snuggled up to his hero again, trying his best to fall asleep, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. His eyes jumped from the brunette to the window and back again.

He didn't want anyone to catch him. Multiple times he wanted to just walk the short distance from the bed to the window and close the shades, but he couldn't bring himself to part from his friend's warmth. His fingers thread themselves in his pajama shirt, slowly opening the wings of his friend's pajama top. A swift, subtle intake of bark scented air rushed up his nose when Syrus moved closer.

'I can't believe I'm doing this.' He blushed beet red.

Suddenly, a harsh knock came at the door. Syrus jumped, his fingers immediately detached themselves and he rolled clear off the bed.

If the knock itself didn't wake Jaden up, the thump of his friend's fall did. The brunette hazily opened his eyes and jumped out of bed.

"I'm Up!" the brunette announced, his feet still wavering. He took this time to realize that he felt a little colder. He gazed down at his shirt to see that most of the buttons were undone.

"Huh?" he didn't have time to ponder it too long.

Atticus burst through the door and waved his arms above his head.

"Up and at'em ladies. Time's a wastin!" He took one look at Jaden with his almost bare chest, and then saw Syrus at his feet next to the brunette and began to regret barging in.

"Uh…did I interrupt something?"

"Ugh, I can't believe he saw us." Syrus pouted again as the he and Jaden walked down the dirt road towards the campus main hall.

"Relax Sy. I mean it's not like we were doing anything." The brunette laughed.

Syrus blushed again. If only Jaden knew.

"Besides, it's Atticus. Who would believe him?" Well, that made Syrus feel better. Atticus was notorious for fabricating stories.

"Don't think about it anymore bud, let's have some fun." Jaden opened the door to the café for his smaller counterpart and invited him inside where there was a whole brouhaha flying around the halls.

"What is this?" the bluenette asked.

"This is the Saturday Sundae Breakfast pal." All kinds of delicious flavors and fixings strewn about the room.

"I don't remember this ever happening on a Saturday."

"That's because we usually sleep until noon every Saturday. This is the one day of the week when we can eat ice cream for breakfast. C'mon bud, let's grab some before its all gone."

The duo rushed through the lines and grabbed what they could, each with his own distinguished tastes.

Elsewhere…

Zane and Chazz held up the banner for Alexis to nail into the wall while Atticus busied himself with the cupcakes.

"Hold it higher Zane, your end is too low."

"Your end is too high." Zane spat back.

"Boys, hold it still would ya."

"Tell Mr. Perfect duelist over there to fix his end."

"Shove it Princeton."

"Boys! All right it looks fine there, just hold it." Alexis nailed the troublesome cloth into the wall, with the words "Happy Birthday" blazoned across it.

"I tell ya it looks crooked." Chazz whined.

"Whatever dude, at least it looks cool." Atticus walked up behind the group, eating a chocolate cupcake.

"Atticus! What are you doing? Those are for the party." Alexis yelled as her brother nibbled on his treat.

"Yeah, and I'm eating mine early." Atticus smiled.

"Look we still have about an hour left before they get back. Let's make the best of it. Alexis, you get the gifts. Chazz, you and I will set the tables. Atticus…get the cake but don't light the candles. For god's sake we'll let Alexis do that." Zane recalled the last time Atticus tried to light candles on a birthday cake. That poor kid couldn't get his clothes off in time.

Anyway, production continued in earnest as the group struggled to get the festivities together in time.

On the other side of the island

"Uuuhhh…I don't think I can ever eat ice cream again." Syrus groaned holding his bloated stomach.

"Uuuhhh, yeah me too." Jaden was in no better shape.

The two walked along the edge of the cliffs, down the valley path carved out for them and down to the beach. Jaden started to hop on one foot, trying to work off his shoes and socks. Syrus quickly followed suit and before long the two sat just outside the reach of the waves that crashed on the shore.

Jaden sat in front of the waves and Syrus soon joined him. The bitterly cold water swallowed their toes before receding and did it all again in a matter of seconds.

"Hey Jaden…" the smaller boy leaned near the other. The curious brunette faced Syrus, a swift wind caught his bangs and slapped them against his face.

"…do you know what today is?" Syrus asked hopefully.

"Sure I do." Syrus perked to attention.

"It's Saturday the 10th of September." The brunette smiled back.

"Oh, yeah, I guess it is." Syrus grabbed his knees and pulled them to his chest.

'He did forget.' He thought to himself, a small tear tugging at his eye.

"Oh come on bud! You know I wouldn't forget your birthday." Jaden bent over and took the smaller teen in his arms just as another strong breeze spread across the beach. Jaden squeezed the small teen against him, ushering a surprised grunt from the smaller boy.

"You really didn't forget!"

"Of course I didn't."

"So how old are you now?"

"I'm sixteen. I'm older than you now." Syrus posed. He pointed an obedient finger at his friend.

"That means, for my birthday, you have to do what I tell you."

"Whoa, when did that become a rule? You're only older than me by, like, a month."

"Doesn't matter. It's my birthday and whatever I want you have to give me." Syrus stood up proudly.

"Okay, that sounds fair. So what do you want?" Jaden asked inquisitively. Syrus couldn't help but giggle to himself. His plans were coming together rather nicely.

"Oh come on. Isn't having a surprise party enough?" Jaden immediately covered his big mouth.

"Wha-? A surprise party! For me?" the bluenette's knees buckled under the shock. Jaden flew on his hands and knees and begged his friend to keep it a secret.

"Look, don't tell the others I told you. They would kill me. Could you act surprised?" Jaden prayed to his friend.

"So that's why you woke me up so early." Syrus smiled uncontrollably, like he was being tickled.

"Please, please, please don't tell."

"Oh, okay I won't." Syrus started to laugh again. He waited for his friend to stand back up on his feet before he tackled him.

"Thanks Jay." He squeezed the taller boy to him.

"What for?" Jaden eased his arms around the smaller teen.

"For making this my best birthday ever." Syrus hugged harder, enjoying what little he could hear of Jaden's heart through his blazer.

"Hey, we still have the party waiting for you back at our dorm." he pointed out. He released the bluenette and grabbed his hand and started to drag him towards their residence for the real party.

"Wait! Can't we stay out a little bit longer? I haven't told you what I wanted for my birthday." Syrus called out to his friend who continued to pull him closer to the Slifer dorm.

"Don't worry bud. You can tell me when we get there."

There was no point in arguing now. They weren't far from the dorms as it was and it would be no more than a minute before they would be climbing the staircase leading to the party.

The pair made it to the stairs, just barely. That short sprint had taken a toll on them both. All that ice cream they had eaten dulled their bodies and made them that much heavier for their feet to carry.

"Geez…(huff)…I didn't think that would take so much out of me." Jaden laid his hands on his knees trying to catch some air. Syrus was no better. He was beginning to wheeze.

"Ja-(pant) Jaden?"

"Yeah bud?" Jaden stood back up, his lungs full of new breath and that numbing sensation in his chest was gone.

"How many people are there?"

"Just our friends and your brother. Why?" Syrus turned away with something akin to guilt hanging heavily on him. He took less heavy breaths as he gathered himself to speak again.

"How long will they stay?"

"What? I don't know. Probably until the party's over. Why?"

"It's just…I didn't expect a surprise party for my birthday. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful, really. But I thought it would be just you and me tonight. I mean I actually was looking forward to it just being the two of us." He started to twitch his fingers together.

"Huh?"

"I mean that would be my birthday wish. Just the two of us, maybe a movie…" Syrus blushed in the ambience of the setting sun.

"Oh come on you spoiled sport. You and I can watch a movie later, when the party's over. Come on, they're all waiting for you."

"Jaden wait!" he chased the taller brunette up the stairs and to the second door on their left. Jaden took one last look at his companion and saw that his bright mercury eyes were facing away from him, looking towards the ground. His casual smile was distorted into a frown.

"Hey…" Jaden placed one hand on Syrus' shoulder, demanding the teen to look at him, and he did.

"…smile bud. Why aren't you happy?" he may have been dense, but Jaden could always tell when Syrus was unhappy or upset. Syrus didn't answer. He chose to stare at the ground the more he started to regret his indecision.

Syrus could feel Jaden's eyes staring at him, burning a hole through him. Without warning, he grabbed for Jaden's hand and started to pull him away from the door.

"Come on Jaden. Can't we go back to the beach?" Syrus whined. He missed the intimate environment that the beach gave them. Plus, he would need the privacy.

"What? Why? We're already here." The brunette protested.

"No reason. Because it's my birthday and you have to do what I want, and I want to go back to the beach." The bluenette continued to pull.

"I don't understand. If you don't show up, it won't be a party at all." Jaden pulled back, bringing them both back to the door. Syrus whined again in protest.

"Come on, we're gonna have a lot of fun. Remember, this is for you." Jaden smiled before he opened the door and the duo was greeted by a sudden blast of cheerful wishes from the group inside.

The confetti went flying as Syrus crossed the threshold of the door, and of course Chazz and Atticus were having a contest to see who could blow their noise maker the loudest.

Syrus gave them his best fake smile. He didn't want to seem ungrateful for their efforts. He went around the room and individually greeted and thanked every one in the room.

"Congrats Sy, you're older than Jaden now." Alexis perked as Zane walked up behind her and gave his smaller brother a firm handshake.

"You're getting older, but you're still as short as you were when you were ten."

"Zane, don't tease him. It's his birthday."

The festivities were quite nice, even Syrus had to admit it, though he wasn't paying much attention to it. His interest lied with the brunette across the room. He was staring at his coveted brunette the whole time Chazz and Atticus yapped his ear off about what it takes to be a man.

Jaden was talking to Alexis, congratulating her on a proper party bash. She told him the grueling story of what it took to make it happen, how the boys were so close to ripping each other apart.

She caught Syrus' greedy stare, and he turned embarrassed. The blonde girl turned towards Jaden who she knew was the object of the teen's fleeting glance.

"Hey did something happen to Sy today?"

"No, nothing out of the ordinary." Jaden responded.

"He seems really sad."

"Yeah, he got that way when we were on our way back after I told him about the party." Whoops, he let it slip again.

"You told him!"

"It was an accident." The brunette begged for forgiveness.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Again Syrus looked at Jaden, and again was caught.

"Maybe he didn't want this party." Alexis started to say.

"Yeah, I thought so too. But why not? I thought he would have fun with all his friends here."

"Maybe he had his own plans for tonight, and we ruined them." Alexis grinned wickedly.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jaden looked perplexed.

"Oh nothing." The blonde played innocent.

"Well…" Jaden recalled. "…He did say that he just wanted to watch a movie tonight. Just the two of us. I mean he really starts to worry me when he gets like this. It's so hard to read him. I don't know what he wants." The brunette pondered more.

Alexis smiled at the shorter teen and asked to be excused. She sauntered her way over to where Zane was collecting more sweets for his well hidden sweet tooth.

Jaden watched suspiciously as Alexis approached the Blue duelist and immediately started to whisper something in his ear. Zane's reaction confirmed something in Jaden. Then without any hesitation, the Obelisk duelist held his hands up in the air and announced…

"Okay everybody, time for cake!" and everything grew quiet for a brief instant.

Everyone gathered near the festive looking delicacy. While Zane gathered the candles, Alexis dimmed the lights so that only the glimmer of the setting sun peeked through the curtains of the dormitory.

Atticus and Chazz sat next to the birthday boy and still bickered amongst themselves. Syrus looked up to his older brother who had placed the candles neatly on the soft confection and lit them.

Syrus sat, his eyes traveling over to the brunette across from him at the table. The group started to sing the obligatory song of passage for a birthday boy, which made the teen blush even more.

While the group sang, Syrus focused on Jaden, watching his smile grow even wider when he shared the stare. Syrus tried to talk to him, but the singing was too high for him to get a word in.

The song finished, followed shortly by applause.

"Make a wish Sy." Alexis cheered. Syrus stared at the cake, which had a picture of his childhood crush on it, Dark Magician Girl.

He didn't blow out the candles, he didn't see the point. What he wanted for his birthday, more than likely wouldn't be given to him. The crowd waited in breathless anticipation for him to make the flames disappear but he did nothing.

"Uh…you gonna blow those out or what?" Chazz quipped.

"Don't rush him! He's probably thinking about what he wants to wish for." Thank goodness for Alexis. She could always bring some levity to any tense moment.

"Oh that reminds me…" Zane interrupted.

"…I forgot to get something. Alexis, Atticus, Chazz, could you help me?" everyone but Alexis looked at him with shock and surprise.

"What, you need all of us?" Atticus yelped.

"Yes, now get out and help me." Zane threatened. He gave the two teens in the chairs a glare, and then they obediently followed him and Alexis to the door, leaving Syrus and Jaden at the table.

"Hey, you sure you don't need my help?" Jaden asked.

"No, I should be good with what I've got." Zane winked at his brother.

"Save some cake for me!" Atticus yelled as he was being dragged out by his sister, Alexis.

With his final words and a last smirk from Zane, the door to the dorm was closed and the only two teens were left alone.

They were shocked. Neither one said anything. Their stare traveled from the door to each other. Then Jaden dismissed the whole thing with a casual shrug.

"More for us." The brunette laid his arms on the table and placed his chin on top, staring at his smaller counterpart with a delightful grin.

"Well, go ahead bud. Make a wish." He invited.

Syrus didn't know what to say. Did his brother plan this all along? What mattered most, he thought, was that Jaden and he were alone at last.

Jaden removed himself from the other side of the table and crossed over to the other side, right next to his smaller friend, waiting for him to make his wish.

"What's the matter? You've been moping ever since we got back." Jaden finally asked.

"Well…" Syrus actually spoke for the first time in over an hour.

"…actually nothing's the matter now." Syrus smiled.

"Huh?"

"Everyone else is gone. It's just you and me now, just like I wanted it."

Jaden stared in disbelief.

"So, all this time, you were upset because…" he didn't know how to phrase it.

"Because I wanted to share my birthday with you, no one else." The bluenette lapsed and quickly looked away with a growing blush.

The teens were enshrouded in the silence of the night that stalked through the windows.

The cake still burned brightly. Jaden finally smiled. He understood why Syrus had been acting so strange.

"Okay bud. It's just you and me now." he compromised.

"So, how about you make your wish and we can celebrate your birthday the way you want." Syrus' eyes glistened even in the dark of the dormitory.

"But before you do…here." Jaden gave the smaller teen a small package wrapped in a decorative silver paper and a meticulously placed bow on top.

Syrus busily opened the gift. In the pale light of the fire in front of him, he could just make out the image of them both inside the plastic frame.

"Do you remember that? It was our first duel together." Jaden looked over the smaller boy's shoulder.

In the picture, Jaden stood triumphantly next to Syrus, his arm snuggly wrapped around him, giving his traditional "That's Game!" stance, with Syrus smiling wildly. It had been the first duel Syrus had ever won against such strong opponents, the Paradox Brothers.

Syrus didn't say a word as he memorized the picture, recalling everything he felt at that moment. He'd forgotten about the win, but still remembered the searing want he felt in the brunette's arms.

Jaden still stalked over the bluenette's left shoulder, marveling at the picture he had to painstakingly steal from the Year Book Committee.

"So what do ya think? Pretty good right? I tell ya, I had to sneak in to the room, almost had to snap off the lock and jump out the window to…"

Syrus quickly caught the unsuspecting brunette in an amateur lip-lock. His fingers clutched tightly to the photo in his hands, like a source of strength. Jaden yelped a surprised moan from his closed lips just before he yanked away.

The distance Jaden created was meager at best, which gave Syrus the added advantage of being able to kiss him again without any real effort. Syrus eagerly pushed against the taller boy, slamming him back against the chair, causing it to fall.

Outside

"Whoa, did you hear that?" Chazz pressed his ear against the door.

"Yeah, it sounded like Syrus finally snapped." Atticus added.

"You guys are so juvenile." Alexis spat.

"Leave them alone. Give them their privacy." Zane quirked, still chewing on the cupcakes he managed to steal right before he left.

"No way, I wanna know what's going on." Chazz pressed harder against the door.

"Hey, move over, you're crowding me." Atticus spat.

"No, you move over."

"Hey, don't touch the hair."

"What a bunch of kids." Alexis conceded.

Back Inside

Syrus didn't move, he was barely even breathing. His lips froze over his brunette hero. He moved every so often to deepen the kiss, or at least try. His arms rested on either side of Jaden's body, slowly closing under him.

Syrus kept his eyes closed, until he slowly released the brunette from the kiss. Only then did he brave the possibility that he would see his heartthrob staring back at him with betrayed eyes and a hurt friendship.

Syrus eased his eyes open after he let go, ready to face the rejection and the possible expulsion from Jaden's life forever. But what he saw, what he thought he saw, was enough to give him hope.

Through the darkness of the dormitory, Syrus could see that Jaden had his eyes closed too. only when he pulled back did the brunette slowly begin to open them. The bluenette saw the makings of a genuine smile crawl over his lips.

"Jaden?"

"Yeah?" barely even audible to the trespassers outside the door.

"I'm sorry." Syrus started to twiddle his thumbs again.

"Hey, no need to be." Jaden sat upright. "It is your birthday right? I guess that means you can do whatever you want." Jaden smiled, trying to elicit a smile from his companion.

"Um…" Syrus started.

"Hm? Is something wrong Sy? Do you need something?"

"Jaden…can I kiss you again?" it sounded really pathetic but he didn't care.

"Hey, it's your birthday right?" the brunette asked with a friendly smile. He sat there, waiting for the smaller teen to follow through with his request.

The bluenette straddled the brunette beneath him and again, leaned forward for another kiss. This time, Jaden met him half way, making it that much easier for Syrus to close his lips over him again with a subtle whimper.

Syrus looped his arms around his hero's neck and pushed his aching body against him. Jaden's arm found themselves following suit, crossing over the smaller boy's back and up around his shoulder blades. Syrus shuddered against the warmth they created.

Syrus felt his fingers drifting north into his friend's hair, but froze. He didn't know what he was doing and didn't want to spoil it just because he became overzealous.

Jaden threw his head back to catch the other teen's fingers laced in his hair.

Syrus moaned pleasantly at the downy feel his fingers found threading through Jaden's hair. It was another minute or two before the teens separated for air. Syrus wasted no time in nuzzling up under the brunette's chin, inhaling the rough bark scent that Jaden always seemed to carry with him.

Syrus could feel the once aching need to be close fading, knowing that he had what he wanted. Still, he refused to let his hero go, even for an instant. Still, greedily, the bluenette nudged Jaden's chin more than once to grab another quick kiss.

"Jaden?"

"Yeah?"

"I know what I want for my birthday." Syrus whispered against the tan complexion of his friend as he held closer.

"And what do you want for your special day?" Jaden quipped.

"Will…um…will you sleep with me?"

Before Jaden could even answer, the two teens heard a very flamboyant reprisal from the nosey duo outside.

"Holy crap!! Did you hear that? He actually asked Jaden to sleep with him!" Chazz burst.

"No way! He didn't say that. He said he wanted Jaden to eat with him." Atticus proposed.

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Would you two leave them alone?!" Alexis intervened.

Syrus brought his blushing gaze back to his hero and asked again.

"Would you sleep with me? That's what I want for my birthday."

"A-Are you sure? That sounds pretty serious." Jaden stuttered.

"It is? I didn't think it would be that bad." Syrus juxtaposed. "I mean, we could watch a movie too, whatever helps you fall asleep." The bluenette added.

Sleep? And then it suddenly hit the obviously nervous brunette.

"Oh! You mean _sleep_ with you, as in sleep in the same bed?"

"Yeah, why? what did you think I meant?" Syrus raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing, nevermind." Jaden smiled as his friend bent in to claim another kiss.

Later that night

The candles on the birthday cake were slowly burning out one by one. The neglected fires offered the only light in the whole dorm room. It found the two teens cuddled up close together, under the comforter blankets, some strewn on the floor.

Jaden still laid awake, the smaller teen still clutching to his shirt for protection, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Happy Birthday Sy." He whispered to the bluenette.

Syrus sprung to life one more time and caught Jaden in another kiss, chafing his body closer.

"Jaden? When can we go one our first date?" Syrus asked.

"Hm…how about tomorrow?" Syrus nuzzled under his hero's chin.

"Okay." The bluenette blushed.

Without word or warning, Jaden started a devastating kiss with the shorter teen, which ushered a surprised moan from Syrus. After they had separated, the brunette whispered lustfully in the smaller boy's ear.

"We'll call that my early birthday present."

The final candle dimmed and at last went out, leaving the two boys to celebrate just as they had wanted, between the bed and the sheets and exhausted breaths between kisses.

FIN ;)


End file.
